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19 August 2008
NASA to Install "Shock Absorbers" to Mitigate Thrust Oscillation
NASA will add a system engineers equated to shock absorbers to Ares 1 rockets to reduce significant vibrations that could shake Orion spacecraft and astronaut crews during early stages of the flight. Earlier, engineers had determined that at about 115 seconds into the flight, the Ares rocket would vibrate for about 5 seconds, enough [...]
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19 August 2008
Fay Forces Shutdown of NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Topical Storm Fay has made landfall along Florida's southwest coastline and is working inland. Officials at NASA's Kennedy Space Center have decided to close down operations for 24 hours as a precautionary measure. Kennedy's 15,000 staff have been instructed to stay at home, although a small number of emergency personnel remain on site to monitor [...]
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14 August 2008
Could Conflict in Georgia Block US Access to the Space Station?
The conflict between Georgia and Russia over the disputed region of South Ossetia may have huge consequences for NASA's ability to send astronauts to the International Space Station in the future. The US has criticised the Russian military action, prompting concerns for the future NASA use of the Russian Soyuz space vehicle. This comes at [...]
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13 August 2008
Have a Question About Space? Ask an Astronaut
Astronauts are usually gregarious and quite pleasant people who like to share their experiences of living and working in space. Current International Space Station resident Greg Chamitoff is no different, and he is now ready and waiting to answer any burning questions you may have about human space flight. NASA offers a [...]
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10 August 2008
Constellation Project Parachute Tests: Ares I Success, Orion Failure
At the end of last month, the Orion crew module and the Ares I rocket parachute systems underwent a series of drop tests. The "drogue parachute" that will gently slow the descent of the spent first-stage motor of the Ares vehicle appeared to function as expected over the Arizona skies. However, an Orion test failed, [...]
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07 August 2008
Next Generation Magnetoplasma Rocket Could be Tested on Space Station
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has announced his intentions to send an advanced spaceship propulsion prototype to the International Space Station for advanced testing. The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (Vasimir) is currently in an experimental phase, but Griffin hopes that a scale model will be ready for one of the remaining Shuttle-ISS missions before 2010. [...]
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06 August 2008
The Politics of Space: Obama Wants to Increase NASA Funding
Over the weekend, Democratic senator Barack Obama made a public statement during his presidential campaign trail in Titusville, Florida. Whilst responding to a question about oceanic research, Obama elaborated on his plans for the future of NASA. Previously, there have been hints that a possible Obama Presidency would see a reduction in space funding in [...]
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01 August 2008
50 Years of NASA
Fifty years ago this week NASA was born. On July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the "National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958." NASA replaced NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, to meet the challenge of exploring beyond Earth, and in particular, to send a human into space. [...]
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28 July 2008
US Signs International Deal to Collaborate on Lunar Missions
NASA has signed a landmark agreement to collaborate with emerging space-faring nations for the exploration of the Moon. This collaboration will include Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Britain and France in the aim to work with NASA developing new technologies and send a series of robotic exploratory missions to pave the way for [...]
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27 July 2008
Bad Idea: Blowing Up Asteroids with Nuclear Missiles
The first thing that comes to mind when someone asks: "How do we deflect a near Earth asteroid?" is "Fire some nuclear missiles at it." However, this might not be the best course of action. Akin to opening a walnut with a sledgehammer, there might be a better, less messy option. This is what Apollo [...]
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21 July 2008
NASA to Develop GPS-Like System for the Moon
During the second moonwalk of the Apollo 14 mission, Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell were hoping to walk to the 300 meter (1,000 feet) wide Cone Crater on the moon, not far from their landing site. However, the two astronauts were not able to find the crater's rim amid the rolling, repetitive terrain. Later analysis [...]
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21 July 2008
Successful Test Firing of Orion Jettison Motor (Video)
It looks like the hardware is gradually slotting into place for the development of the Orion capsule in NASA's Constellation Program. On July 17th, the ultimate "ejection seat" was tested by NASA and rocket contractor Aerojet: The Orion jettison motor. Should there be an emergency during Ares rocket/Orion capsule during launch, the Orion capsule will [...]
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21 July 2008
NASA's Use of Cadavers to Test the Orion Capsule
NASA is debating whether the new Orion capsule should land in the water, like Apollo, or on land, similar to how the Russian Soyuz capsule returns to Earth. To help them determine the potential for human injuries with each possible landing scenario, NASA has used human cadavers during their tests. At first, this [...]
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17 July 2008
Problems Surface For Constellation Program
On the heels of news about NASA engineers who feel the Constellation program is using the wrong kind of rockets comes word that efforts to build the spacecraft which will replace the shuttle and return astronauts to the moon is running behind and over-budget. NASA Watch published a leaked internal NASA document showing the [...]
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17 July 2008
A Cold War Meeting in Space 33 Years Ago Today
On July 17, 1975, something momentous and unprecedented happened: two Cold War-rivals met in space. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project saw spacecraft from the United States and the Soviet Union docking together in space, ushering in a new era of cooperative ventures between the two countries that once were rivals in the "space race." Preparing [...]
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